Making sense of sound

Sound Pollution

Sound pollution is on the brink of becoming the next greatest environmental challenge with harmful effects on our physical and mental health, often indirectly caused by noise annoyance. However, the scope and urgency of this problem is not yet fully recognised and traditional acoustic approaches by itself are insufficient to tackle it. The soundscape approach offers a new perspective on the matter, by considering environmental sounds as a resource and not just as waste. By considering the environment holistically and from a psychological perspective, we help (amongst others) municipalities, healthcare organisations, construction companies, and music festivals to create sustainable soundscapes in which people can thrive. By optimizing the quality of the auditory environment for different goals and groups, we improve quality of life for all.

Services

Consultancy

We provide professional advice on creating and improving healthy soundscapes, both in the public and private sector.

Technology

By mixing signal processing and machine learning, we develop state of the art technology for soundscape analysis.

Research

With years of experience, we conduct solid scientific research on soundscape perception with tools like in situ experience sampling and soundwalks.

Projects

Summer 2017

On behalf of the Municipality of Amsterdam, we researched the experience of local residents during music festivals at the NDSM-wharf and Westerpark.

2017

The municipality of Utrecht is researching how residents and visitors experience their soundscapes during festivals in a pilot project with MoSART.

Together with the RIVM and Soundtrackcity we're studying the soundscape of the Meester Visserplein in Amsterdam.

Soundscape

A soundscape is the auditory equivalent of a landscape. It is a perceptual construct and consists of all the audible sounds on any given moment, as understood or perceived by a certain person or society. A soundscape is not only about how a place sounds, but also about how it feels. It includes the interrelationships between person and activity and place, in space and time. Our soundscapes are important because they influence our physical and mental health. Therefore, it's time to open our ears.